MMA news: Diego Lopes to beat Alexander Volkanovski for featherweight title at UFC 314
UFC 314 is set to take place in Miami on Saturday and promises to be the biggest card of 2025 so far, with three incredible match-ups sure to excite.
The headline event sees a fight for the vacant UFC featherweight title between former champion Alexander Volkanovski and contender Diego Lopes.
Before that, Paddy Pimblett faces the toughest test of his career against Michael Chandler and Yair Rodríguez entertains UFC-debutant Patricio Pitbull.
Sports News Blitz writer Niall Togher previews all the action and predicts the winners.
Alexander Volkanovski (26-4, 13-3 UFC) vs Diego Lopes (26-6, 5-1 UFC)
After Ilia Topuria announced he would be moving up to lightweight, the title picture in the 145-pound division blew wide open.
For Volkanovski, who suffered back-to-back knockout losses against Islam Makhachev at lightweight before returning to featherweight and losing his belt to Topuria, the match-up at UFC 314 is perhaps his last opportunity to reach the top.
After making his UFC debut in 2023, Lopes took on highly rated Movsar Evloev at short notice for UFC 288.
Despite losing by decision, Lopes’ performance was impressive and since then the Brazilian has been phenomenal, winning his last five fights to book himself a title shot.
In this bout, Volkanovski’s chances of winning increase dramatically if he survives the first two rounds as Lopes has shown – especially in his fight with Dan Ige – that he is prone to slowing down in the latter rounds.
Lopes did at least reveal a capacity for finishing after the first 10 minutes when he dropped Brian Ortega in the third round recently, but the potential for a lack of output could see Volkanovski take over the fight later on thanks to his pace and volume.
However, at 36 years old and coming off the back of two knockout losses, it is hard to pick Volkanovski over the younger fighter here.
Lopes countering over the top of a jab by Volkanovski, who tends to leave his chin in the air, could be enough to win the title for the Brazilian.
Fight prediction: Diego Lopes to win by knockout in round 2
Michael Chandler (23-9, 2-4 UFC) vs Paddy Pimblett (22-3, 6-0 UFC)
This fight is a tough one to predict.
On the one hand, a trademark Chandler overhand right or left hook could land after the American explodes into the pocket.
On the other hand, Pimblett could use his rangey, unorthodox striking to pick apart Chandler from the outside and then employ his world-class jiu-jitsu skills to threaten submissions.
Chandler’s 2-4 UFC record is deceiving, because he has only lost to the elite fighters of his weight class and moreover had big moments in each defeat when he verged on winning.
However, at 38, Chandler cannot afford to lose against 12th-ranked Pimblett if he wants to challenge for the title again.
For Pimblett, this is the biggest test of his career so far – a win propels him to the top of the division and into potential number-one contender bouts.
This match-up will likely be the fight of the night, with a clash of two chaotic striking styles leading into scrappy exchanges that are likely to be an entertaining watch for the fans.
If the pair do grapple, Pimblett needs to be careful about staying in the bottom position against a powerful wrestler like Chandler should he not secure a submission.
Losing is a habit, though, and Chandler has lost four out of his last five despite making them entertaining and competitive.
So while he may get rocked during the fight, you can expect Pimblett to emerge victorious in an extremely competitive bout.
Fight prediction: Paddy Pimblett to win by decision
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Yair Rodríguez (19-5, 10-4 1NC UFC) vs Patricio Pitbull (36-7, 0-0 UFC)
At one point, Pitbull was regarded as the best fighter not in the UFC.
Now the Brazilian finally has a chance to prove himself at the highest level of MMA, but the question remains: has the opportunity come too late?
We shall find out on Saturday as the 37-year-old takes on Yair Rodríguez, the most dynamic striker in the division.
Pitbull simply does not have the time to wet his feet in the UFC by sparring with a lower-ranked fighter – it’s sink or swim as he faces a top-five opponent on his debut.
For Rodríguez, it is an opportunity to snap a two-fight loss streak against a much shorter opponent, perhaps by using his powerful and dynamic kicks at range.
After all, even some of the best featherweights of all time – Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski – have had issues on the feet with Rodríguez.
If Pitbull cannot take this fight to the ground at some stage, then he may run into similar issues.
Pitbull certainly possesses the requisite power in his hands to win any fight, but using the threat of the takedown to disguise his right hand would be useful as Rodríguez has struggled with defending takedowns in the past.
A loss for either fighter leaves them with a mountain to climb if they want to earn another title shot, so expect the younger Rodríguez to defeat Pitbull on points.
Fight prediction: Yair Rodríguez to win by decision
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